Haemolytic activity against mammalian erythrocytes was detected in very low concentrations of saliva from the octopus Eledone cirrhosa. It was not caused by any previously identified component of this saliva. The activity was slightly inhibited by trypsin and more drastically by chymotrypsin. Locust bioassay was used to test HPLC fractions isolated from E. cirrhosa saliva. An LD(50) of 378.4 microg/g locust weight was calculated for whole saliva injected into the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. This study was the first record of haemolytic activity and toxicity to insects in cephalopod saliva. Both haemolytic and insecticidal fractions could be separated using reversed phase HPLC.
Copright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.